


Mister 'I-Tip-Five-Bucks-Every-Day-Because-I-Want-The Barista-To-Notice-Me'

by Latte_Hottay



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29582490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latte_Hottay/pseuds/Latte_Hottay
Summary: Emma is injured and scared, luckily professor Hidgens is there with them to help.
Relationships: Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Mister 'I-Tip-Five-Bucks-Every-Day-Because-I-Want-The Barista-To-Notice-Me'

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am once again posting a helicopter crash fic because that's how I cope with stress for absolutely no logical reason :)
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
> -Injury  
> -Blood  
> -Amputation  
> -Panic attack  
> -Talk about death (but no actual character death)

Ted had run off, so it was just the three of them in the back of the helicopter, a gun pointed at their faces. Emma stared at her coworker, her blue eyes glowing from behind her goggles.   
  
Professor Hidgens twisted Zoey’s arm, the gunshot loud in the silence of the night.   
  
The blinding pain that followed the crash was absolutely  _ agonizing _ , but she choked on her screams, nothing more than a whimper coming from her lips.   
  
Before she even realized what was going on, her professor and Paul were by her side. ‘Okay’s tumbled from Paul’s lips as professor Hidgens inspected the damage the rebar had done.   
  
One look at the gory mess, Emma knew she was  _ fucked _ . Paul hushed her when she let out a pained moan as the professor carefully moved her leg.   
  
“We have to stop the bleeding before we can move you to safety,” he told her, before turning to Paul. “Youngman, could you give me your tie?”   
  
Paul rushed to take his tie off, which probably only made it take longer as he accidentally tightened the knot, but after a few seconds of struggling, he handed the black tie to professor Hidgens.   
  
“Alright. Emma, this will hurt, but it will most likely save your life.” Emma nodded slowly. Everything was happening too fast, and the movements of Paul pulling her onto his lap made her head spin and her vision blur. “Paul. Cover her mouth.”   
  
“Why?” Paul asked, but doing what he was told.   
  
“She’s going to scream, and we can’t afford to be found. Can you do that?”   
  
A short silence, followed by a hesitant ‘okay’.   
  
The professor’s words only frightened her more, and she tensed, leaning against Paul as his hand that wasn’t covering her mouth gently stroked her head, trying to bring some comfort to cancel out just a fraction of the pain she was about to experience thanks to Zoey’s actions.   
  
Emma closed her eyes when he lifted her leg slightly to wrap the tie around her thigh. The pained screech that came from her throat when he tied the ends together was muffled by Paul’s hand. Her back arched as she desperately tried to keep her uninjured leg from kicking out and colliding with her professor’s nose.   
  
She was pretty sure that the wet substance making its way up her throat, filling her mouth with an  _ awful _ metallic taste wasn’t a good sign either.   
  
Barely aware of anything but the  _ excruciating _ pain that came with tightening the tourniquet, she gripped Paul’s arm with both hands, not even processing his soft hiss of pain when she dug her nails into his skin as she tried to make it through the blinding pain that took over every inch of her body.   
  
Gasping for air when the professor sat back and Paul pulled his hand away, Emma closed her eyes, trying her best to breathe through the unbearable pain. Choking on her own sobs, her eyes darted around the beach, not being able to focus on anything, but still looking for  _ him _ in her panicked state.   
  
It took longer than it should’ve before his blue eyes finally broke through the blur that was her vision. She flinched when she felt the gentle hand cupping her cheek, but leaned into the comforting touch as she slowly became more aware of her surroundings, able to focus on  _ anything  _ other than the pain that radiated from her thigh, though it was still very much present.   
  
Her ragged breathing quickly turned into hyperventilating as her brain finally caught up with the situation. Paul’s hands were on her shoulders, and he begged for her to look at him, but his words never reached her panicked mind. More hands were touching her, but she smacked them away, just wanting to lie down and close her eyes and wait for the pain to stop or death to claim her, whichever came first.   
  
Blood dribbled down her chin, staining Paul’s clothes when he pulled her closer to both comfort her and muffle her cries. She felt professor Hidgens take her shaking body from Paul’s lap, lifting her into his arms, and she cried louder at the movements. Everything was happening too fast. The world was spinning, and she clenched her professor’s turtleneck in her fists as her leg screamed in agony with every step they took.   
  
By the time she could finally take in a deep but shaky breath, she could already see the tall gates of the professor’s property in the distance.   
  
The gates slid open when professor Hidgens put in the code, and closed behind them with a thump. He led them to the lab and put Emma down on the metal table in the center of the room. The surface was uncomfortable, but Emma laid her head down, forcing herself to relax and focus on the cold table underneath her.   
  
“Alright. This is going to be a tough decision to make, but I’m giving you a choice,” professor Hidgens told her. “Paul’s tie might be keeping you from bleeding out right now, but if we leave it for too long, it will cause permanent damage to your leg. I do not have the resources to fix your leg properly, so I’m afraid amputation will be our only option.”    
  
Emma tensed, sitting up. “Or?”   
  
The professor sighed, looking at his watch. “We don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here. It could be a couple of minutes, but it could very well be a few weeks. We have approximately two hours before your leg starts dying from the lack of blood. We can, of course, wait until then in case help arrives before that, or we can get it over with. What do you want?”   
  
Paul grabbed her hand, squeezing it softly. “Is there really no other way?”   
  
“Considering we don’t know how long this apocalypse will last, no, there isn’t.”   
  
“Okay…” Emma mumbled. “I want to wait.”   
  
_ Not because I’m scared _ , she told herself,  _ but help might arrive _ .   
  
The professor nodded, looking at his watch again. “It is eleven-thirty. Let’s say we wait until one. Does that sound alright?”   
  
Emma nodded slowly, and Hidgens shot her a reassuring smile.   
  
“Alright. I’ll get everything ready.”

*** *** ***

**3…** **  
** **  
** **2…** **  
** **  
** **1…** **  
** **  
** Emma tensed at the sound of the clock. No one had come to help them. Maybe no one would come at all.   
  
The three survivors looked at each other, and Emma gave a small nod. No words were needed, they all knew what came next. Emma sat up, reaching for her knee without moving her leg. She closed her eyes at the feeling of her fingers brushing over the skin, awfully aware that this would be the last time she’d ever feel that.

Flinching at the snap of the blue gloves professor Hidgens put on, she lay back down, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable pain of the limb being detached from her body.   
  
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Paul asked as the professor positioned the lap above the table.   
  
“They might have stripped me from my medical license, but knowledge is something they can’t take away.”   
  
Nope. Not comforting at all.   
  
A few mumbled ‘okay’s, and Paul reached for her hand. “Is she… Will she make it?”   
  
The silence that followed was enough.   
  
But Emma wasn’t afraid of death. She didn’t want do die, but death was inevitable, weather it was now or in eighty years. Life wasn’t some video game where you can just hit the ‘respawn’ button. Though that thought might be terrifying to some, she tought it was a good thing. It makes life more meaningful.   
  
She sat up when she felt the professor’s gloved hands on her skin, pushing him away. “You’re not even gonna knock me out or something?”   
  
He eased her back down. “I expected to live through the apocalypse  _ on my own _ . You can’t be unconscious when  _ you  _ are the one performing surgery. I’m afraid I don’t have anything. I could give you something for the pain, but that is all I can offer you.”   
  
“Okay…” Emma mumbled, flinching when he touched her.   
  
“I’m not doing anything yet,” he assured her. “I will tell you what I’m about to do before I start, alright?”   
  
He grabbed a tray, making sure to keep it out of her sight so she wasn’t able to see what was on there. She looked away when he started filling a syringe. “Alright, Emma. Sharp scratch,” he warned her, frowning when she barely reacted at the needle being poked into her skin.   
  
Her mind was racing as she stared at the clock in a desperate attempt to just  _ forget _ , but with the pain in her leg, that was nearly impossible. She should be at home, sleeping or writing an essay or watching some shitty movie, anything but  _ this _ .   
  
“Alright,” professor Hidgens started as something wet touched her leg to disinfect the area. “Paul, your job is to keep her calm and hold her upper body down, okay?”   
  
“Okay,” Paul mumbled, gently pinning Emma’s shoulders down. She tensed as the reality of what was going to happen hit her, and he tried to ease the tension out of her shoulders, whispering soothing apologies and assurances.   
  
“Emma, all you have to do is try to stay calm and keep your leg relaxed, alright? I’ll be as fast as I possibly can.”   
  
A small nod, and he dug the scalpel into her thigh. She let out a whimper that was probably softer than it should’ve been, but when he cut deeper, she couldn’t keep the hoarse scream from escaping her throat.   
  
The world was spinning, and despite the fact that she lay flat on a table, she felt like she was falling. She struggled against the hands holding her,  _ trapping _ her.   
  
“Give her something to bite down on!” someone instructed, though she couldn’t place the voice before something was forced into her mouth.   
  
One more wave of pain washed over her, before her eyes rolled back into her skull and her body went limp.

*** *** ***

Emma woke up with a groan. As soon as her eyes were open, she tried to shield them from the bright lights above her, wincing at the tug on her arm.   
  
“Emma!”   
  
She jumped at the sound of her name, turning her head to face him.  _ Paul _ .   
  
“Thank God, you’re awake. You’ve been out for  _ seven _ hours, we were afraid you wouldn’t wake up.”   
  
She opened her mouth to say something, but Paul hushed her. “Shhh… Don’t speak, okay? I’ll go get the professor.”   
  
Emma nodded slowly, looking at him as he left the room. It didn’t take long for him to come back, the professor following him closely, his lab coat stained with what she assumed was  _ her  _ blood.   
  
“Emma, dear! You’re finally awake! Come here, let me remove your IV.”   
  
He pulled the tube out and cleaned the area to remove the stickiness from the tape, before putting a bandaid over the injection site.   
  
“How are you feeling?”   
  
“A little sleepy…” She chuckled.   
  
“Oh dear, I put you on some pain medications. Probably more than I should have, because you’re quite-”   
  
“If you say short I will shove this bandage down your throat.” She patted her leg, immediately regretting it as her face scrunched up in pain.   
  
“Alright,” the professor gave in, though he did not look impressed by her threat. She just blamed that on the fact that she was in a bed with no way to get up anytime soon.   
  
“Try to get some rest,” he instructed with a smile. “I’ll be back later to check on you.” He left the room, leaving Paul and Emma alone.   
  
“Hey, guess what?” she asked, poking him in the side playfully.   
  
“What?”   
  
“Now I’ll only stub my toe half as much!”   
  
Paul chuckled. “Though I’m glad you see the bright side of this whole situation, you need to rest. You won’t stub your toes when you’re sleeping.”   
  
Emma grinned, resting her head on the pillow. “You’re cute when you’re in love,” she stated.   
  
Paul’s cheeks flushed red. “I- I’m not in love!”   
  
“Keep telling yourself that, mister ‘I-Tip-Five-Bucks-Every-Day-Because-I-Want-The Barista-To-Notice-Me’.”  
  
“Okay, goodnight Emma.”   
  
“Am I not getting a goodnight kiss?” she asked, pouting.   
  
“Maybe when you’re not high on painkillers.”   
  
Emma grinned. “I’ll hold you to that.”


End file.
